• 


JcVxi  Baker 


Abridged    Speech 
Oct.  2,  1858 


ABRIDGED    SPEECH 


OP 


JEHU     BAKER, 


i 
• 


OCTOBER   2,    1858 


ALTON,  ILL.: 

AT  THI  COURIER  STBAM  BOOK  AKD  JOB  P»TNTIN«  10VS8. 

1.858. 


• 


^f 73.  <>" 


SPEECH  OF  JEHU  BAKER. 


Fellow  Citizc'Ls:  'perish    than   stand  before    in«    p*opi*  for 

ID  appearing  before  TOO  as  a  candidate  their  votos.    I  do  not  believe,  however,  that 
for  Congress  in  this  district,  I  must  confess  the  arts   of  cunning   and  intrigue  are   the 
I  feel  aome  degree  of  embarra-  sment  from  most  powerful  means  of  gaining  the  mpport 
the  perfectly  new  and  strange  position  which  of  majorities.   1  will  not  think  so  meanly  of 
I  occupy.    My  habits,  my  natural  innlina-  human  nature  as  this.     I  believe  that  reason 
tions,   my   studies   and  employments   hitve  and  moral  bon-sty  and   patriotism  are  the 
not  been  such  as  to  kindle  in  my  mind  the  ruling  elements  in  the  American  mind.     1 
love  and  pursuit  of  office.     I  never  before  believe     that     plain,     artless,    downright 
was  a  candidate  for  any  official  position,  and  truth,  is  on  the   wboie  mor?  powerful  auO 
Oin  truly  say  that  I  did  honestly  suppose  more  popular  than  cunning  and  deceit.      1 
until  quite  recentlv  thnt  I  never  would  be.  believe  that  meu  are  more  a?epiy  and  more 
Obeying,  however,  the  warm    solicitations  ieneraliy  moved  by  appealing  to  their  un- 
— i  might  almost  say  the  commands,  of  nu-  derstanchng  and  virtue,  than  to  their  preju- 
merous  friends  in  various  parts  of  the  dis-  dices  and  vices.     I  do  not,  therefore,  re«og- 
trict,  I  now  speak  to  you  in  the  character,  nize  the  legitimacy  of  tiit'so  views,  >»ocord- 
of  a  candidate — resolved,  nevertheless,  as  I  ing  to  which  it  is  uecestxiry  for  a  aaudidai? 
must  say  in  justice  to  myself,  that  aiy  char-  to  unman  himself,  and  to  descend  u»  lh»- 
acter  as  a  man,  shall  never  b*  swallowed  up  variety  of  mean  expedients   which  are  sap 
in  the  politician  and  the  office  seeker.     Ii  posed  to  be  essential  to  success.     And  if  I 
there  is  one  conviction  which  has  grown  and  did  recognize  their  legitimacy,  1   am  q«it« 
strengthened  with   my  whole   life  and  my;8ure  I  should  never  act  upon  them, 
whole  experience,  it  is  that  the  integrity  of,     I  will  make  the  further  introductory  r«- 
a  {man's  innermost  scul  is  to  be  preferred  mark,  that  in  my  opinion   one  of  the   mo* 
above    all    the    ambitious    aims    of     life,  damaging  evils  in  the  political  state  of  our 
and    that  the   loss  of    that,  is  ihe  loss  of  country  is  the  degree  of  rancor,  vulgarity 
all  for  which  God  has  placed  man  on  this  and  falsehood  which  prevails  in  our  politi- 
earth.     I  have  no  other  apology  lor  the  ex-'ca!  discussions.     This  it-  an  evil  which  lam 
pression  of  such  a  sentiment  in  a  political  persuaded  most,  n.,en  cf  all  parties  must  real- 
speech,  than  the  spontaneous  intensity  with.ise.     As  a  general   tiling,  a   candidate   f 
which  I  teol  the  truth  of  it,  and  to  put  down,  office  must  either  be  constitutionally  inaeu- 
at  the  very  beginning  of  mv  remark-},  a  pro-  sibie,  or  de  must  possess  nerves  of  stee-l  at'-. 
test  against  th  ;t  extended  impression  in  the:a  face  of  flint,  in  order  to  me.-t  that  torriMi 
public  mind,  that  a  candidate  for  office  can-  of  detraction,  rnisrepreemi'a'ica  and  slau 
not  be  a  sincere  man.     If  1  thought  that  a  der  which  is  p*ured   out  upon  his  devo.- 
dam>iged  character  were  tb^  neeessary  price  head  ;  and  truth  requires  roc  to  add  that','.. 
of  office,  I  should  feel  that  it  were  better  toils  applicable  in  a  great  m*a»um  t«  all  «cc 

967588 


(4) 


ti  ins  and  parties  of  the  country.  My  firrr, 
conviction  is,  that  the  discussion  of  our 
great  political  questions  before  the  people, 
whether  from  the  stump  or  the  press,  should 
be  marked  with  that  dignity,  decency 
love  of  truth  which  we  look  for  and  require 
m  the  private  relations  of  life.  There  is  no 
reason  on  earth  why  a  man,  when  he  comes 
t  >  deal  with  public  affairs,  ahuuld  lay  aside 
the  obligations  of  fair  dealing,  and  the  man- 
ners and  language  of  a  gentleman.  I  must 
B  y,  however,  and  it  gives  me  the  greatest 
pleasure  to  say  it,  thai  1  do  not  know  in 
this  entire  district,  a  single  man,  -i  single 
editor,  no  matter  what  our  political  differ- 
ences may  be,  who  I  believe  is  disposed  to 
assail  me  with  wanton  and  unfounded  abuse; 
and  one  reason  possibly  is,  that  1  have  al- 
ways entertained  nnd  expressed  the  opin- 
ion, that  whatever  our  pak  tv  differences  may 
be,  we  should  never  forget  that  we  are  fel- 
low citizens,  having  a  common  interest  and 
a  common  destiny,  and  that  the  great  masses 
composing  all  parties  are  in  a  like  degree 
sincere  in  the  wish  to  promote  the  welfare 
of  our  common  country.  Nor  am  I  able  to 
see  that  such  sentiments  of  reasonable  char- 
ity, are  at  all  inconsistent  with  the  firmest 
adherence  to  one'c  own  principles,  and  the 
m >i it  forcible  and  influential  expression  of 
them. 

•AU8B   OT   OUR  POLITICAL  TROUBLES. 

If  we  would  seek  a  cure  for  our  political 
evils  we  must  first  look  to  their  cause. 
Adopting  the  opinion  of  DAXIEL  WEBSTKR, 
a»  expressed  in  his  speech  of  March  7th, 
1850,  it  appears  to  m«  perfectly  plain,  that 
the  source  from  which  our  present  troubles 
proceed,  will  be  found  to  consist  in  a  two- 


has  tak«n  place  in  the  country.  Before 
these  extremes  took  root  there  was  entire 
harmony  and  unanimity  of  feeling  and  opin- 
ion North  and  South,and  when  we  shall  carry 
popular  opinion  and  the  administration  of 
the  government  back  to  the  old  itarting 
point,  that  harmony  will  return. 

TUB  OLD     CONSERVATIVE    PRINCIPLB. 

If  we  look  back  to  the  beginning  of  ear 
government  we  shall  find  that  there  wat 
scarcely  any  difference  of  opinion  in  rela- 
tion to  slavery.  In  the  North  and  in  the 
South  alike,  and  quite  universally,  it  was  re- 
garded as  a  great  and  deplorable  evil.  In 
the  language  of  Mr.  Webster,  "the  eminent 
men,  the  most  eminent  men,  and  nearly  all 
the  conspicuous  politicians  of  the  South,  held 
the  same  sentiment*;  that  slavery  was  an 
evil,  a  blight,  a  blast,  a  mildew,  a  scourge 
and  a  curse."  It  was  expected  that  on 
the  stoppage  of  the  importation  of  slaves, 
slavery  would  begin  to  run  out,  and  gradu- 
ally disappear  from  thn  country.  The 
opinions  of  Washington,  J  fforson,  Madison, 
Franklin,  Henry,  Lee,  and  the  whole  rank 
and  file  of  illustrious  men  of  that  day,  with 
scarcely  an  exception,  are  known  to  have 
been  strongly  averse  to  slavery.  Snob  was 
the  original  state  of  opinion  in  the  whole 
country.  If  we  look  to  the  actt  of  those 
great  men,  we  shall  find  that  they  correspon- 
ded with  the  prevailing  opinion  of  the  time. 
They  left  slavery  in  the  State's  where  they 
found  it,  but  by  the  Ordinance  of  13th  July, 
1787,  they  excluded  it  from  all  the  territory 
then  owned  by  the  country — tbat  is  from  that 
great  northwestern  Territory,  since  divided 
up  into  the  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illi- 
nois, Michigan  and  Wisconsin.  Every 


fold  departure  from  the  great  Conservative  member  of  every  slaveholding   State  voted 
principle*  in  which    our   government   was  for  that  Ordinance  and     tbat  prohibition. 


founded,  and  in  which  all  men,  North  and 
South,  were  united  at  the  time.  On  either 
side  of  those  great  principles  there  has 
grown  up  an  extreme  form  of  opinion,  one 


Shortly  after  the  new  government  went 
into  eperation  those  same  men  put  that 
same  Ordinanc  e  in  force  under  our  present 
Constitution.  Not  only  this: — early  in  the 


in  the  North  and  one  in  the  South,  and  to  present  century,  Congress  was  five  times 
th"  action  of  these  extreme  we  must  refer;applied  to  for  a  suspension  of  that  portion 
the  icetioaal  agitation  and  bitterness  whir h  of  the  ordinance  which  prohibited  slaves?; 


• 


(5) 


and  fire  times  fpngress  refused  the  suspen- 
sion. Such  then  was  the  state  of  senti- 
ment, and  such  the  action  in  relation  to 
slavery,  before,  at  the  beginning,  and  some- 
time after  our  government  went  irto  opera 
tion.  There  was  no  agitation,  no  bitterness, 
no  angry  warfare  made  upon  slavery  ; 
— all,  however,  regarded  it  as  an  evil,  and  by 
general  consent,  and  without  opposition 
from  any  quarter,  it  was  excluded  from  the 
•ntire  Territory  of  the  country. 

THE    NORTHERN    EXTREME. 

In  the  course  of  time,  a  form  of  opinion 
took  hold  of  a  small  portion  of  the  North- 
ern mind  which  Mr.  Webster  speaks  of 
as  being  "much  more  warm  and  strong 
against  slavery"  than  that  which  prevailed 
in  the  beginning.  The  opposition  to  slavery 
by  the  fathers  of  the  country  was  constitu- 
tional and  conservative,  and  did  much 
good.  The  extreme  opposition  of  which  I 
now  speak  is  violent  and  excessive,  and  cal- 
culated to  be  mischievous  instead  of  bene- 
ficial. I  will  glance  at  some  of  the  points  of 
this  extreme.  Resistance  of  the  fugitive  slave 
law  by  mob  violence  was  unknown  to  the  ear- 
ly history  of  our  government.  The  sentiment 
that  the  constitution,  because  it  sustains  a 
limited  relation  to  slavery,  is  "a  covenant 
with  death  and  a  league  with  hell"  was 
equally  unknown.  The  notion  that  our 
Union  should  be  dissolved  as  a  means  of 
removing  responsibility  for  slavery,  and 
offering  a  more  efficient  means  of  assailing 
it  in  the  South,  had  no  place  in  tie  great 
and  sane  minds  which  made  the  Union. 
I  will  add  that  angry  publications,  written 
in  a  bitter  and  uncharitable  spirit,  and  cal- 
culated to  kindle  the  hatred  of  the  Northern 
mind  against  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
Southern  people  is  a  mode  of  assailing  sla- 
very which  the  wine  and  practical  men  of 
the  first  age  of  our  government  never  dream- 
ed of  resorting  to.  Thus  we  see  there  has 
grown  up  in  a  portion  of  the  Northern  mind 
— and  I  must  say  that  I  do  not  believe 
that  class  to  be  very  large — an  extreme 
feeling  «f  hostility  to  slavery— extreme 


when  oompared  with  the  conservative  op- 
position to  that  great  evil  which  wo*  pit 
forth  by  the  fathers  of  tke  country. 

THE  SOUTHERN  EXTRBJU. 

The  Southern  extreme  which  has  diverged 
off  from  the  old  doctrine  of  the  country, 
Mr.  Webster  states  in  similar  language,  by 
saying  that  it  bus  grown  "much  more  warm 
and  strong"  in  support  of  slavery.  Instead 
of  being  "  a  blight,  a  blast,  a  mildew,  a 
scourge  and  a  curse,"  as  il  was  regarded 
by  the  virtuous  and  great  men  of  the  Revo- 
lution, slavery  is  BOW  spoken  of  as  *«  no 
evil,  no  scourge,  but  as  a  great  religious, 
social  and  moral  blessing."  I  will  not  stop 
to  enquire,  in  any  detail,  what  is  the  cause 
of  this  change  of  opinion  in  a  portion  of 
the  Southern  mind.  Mr.  Webster  attributes 
it  to  the  increased  production  and  profit  of 
the  cotton  plantations  of  the  South.  He 
refers  to  the  faet  that  in  the  years  1790 
and  '91  the  export  of  cotton  did  not  exceed 
forty  or  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  that  in 
1850  it  would  scarcely  fall  short  of  a  hun- 
dred millions.  Slavery  having  become  pro- 
fitable in  this  line  of  production  (which  it 
was  not  at  an  earlier  day,)  the  opinion  of 
the  slave-holder  underwent  a  change  cor- 
responding to  his  material  interest.  Instead 
of  an  evil  as  it  was  held  by  the  fathers,  it 
came  to  be  regarded  as  a  blessing.  And  to 
fit  this  new  and  extreme  opinion,  a  new  and 
extreme  Constitutional  doctrine  hat  been 
invented  and  installed  in  power.  I  allude 
to  that  monstrous  doetrine  of  Mr.  Calboun, 
the  great  organizer  and  leader  of  this  South- 
ern extreme,  that  the  Constitution  carriet 
and  plants  slavery  in  the  Territories, and  that 
neither  Congress  nor  the  people  of  the  Ter- 
ritory themselves  can  exclude  it  if  they  teish 
to !  This  horrible  doctrine,  expressing  the 
extremest  sentiment  of  the  extremest  por- 
tion of  our  Southern  brethren,  is  now  bat- 
tling for  ascendency  over  the  publie  mind 
of  the  whole  country!  I  need  not  argue 
that  such  a  doctrine  is  utterly  indefensible. 
Every  Republican  in  this  district,  almost 
every  America *;  and  old  line  Whig,  and  » 


large  portion  of  the  Democrats  within  my; mains  for  the  different  Motions  of  the ooun- 
knowledge,  regard  it  as  totally  unsound,  try  to  unite  on  a  route  which  will  be  most 
It  is  perfectly  obvious  that  it  is  a  wide  beneficial  to  the  whole.  Between  an  ez- 
und  extreme  departure  from  the  prin- treme  Northern  route,  an  extreme  Southern 
ciples  of  those  great  and  good  men  who 'route,  and  a  middle  union  route,  no  fair 
made  the  Constitution  and  administered  it 'minded  man,  who  wishes  the  common  good 
in  their  daj  and  generation.  As  we  have  of  the  entire  country,  can  hesitate  for  a  mo- 
seen,  the  doctrine  at  that  time  was  to  leave  ment.  It  is  plain  that  that  great  worK 
slavery  as  they  found  it  in  the  States,  but  should  be  laid  down  upon  a  line  as  near  as 
to  exclude  it  from  the  Territories,  and  may  be  about  the  center  of  territory  and 
to  keep  it  excluded-  The  pretended  doc- population.  When  thus  constructed,  it  will 
trine  now  is  that  the  Constitution  estab-  be  a  band  of  iron,  uniting  the  Eastern  and 
lishet  slavery  in  the  Territories,  and  that ,  Western  halvs  of  our  continent.  When 
the  power  to  exclude  it  does  not  exist,  either  thus  constructed,  the  commerce  of  Asia  and 
in  Congress,  or  in  the  territorial  inhabitants,  the  Pacific  Ocean  will  pour  through  this 
or  elsewhere  on  earth!  The  contrast'  here!great  artery,  and  diffuse  itself  by  collateral 
is  too  bold  and  plain  to  admit  of  cf>vil  or  •  branches  through  all  the  North,  through  all 
evasion.  Well  did  that  great  Southern 'the  South,  and  to  every  nook  and  corner  of 
statesman,  Mr.  Cloy,  say  of  this  extreme  the  whole  country.  It  appears  to  me  that 
Calhoun  doctrine,  in  1850,  that,  "  If  he  had  St.  Louis,  by  its  central  position  and  great 
no:  heard  that  opinion  avowed,  he  should  commercial  importance  is  the  proper  point 
have  regarded  it  an  one  of  the  most  extraor-\rf  departure  for  that  line  of  road  which 


dinary  assumptions,  and  the  most  indefen- 


should  be   continued  thence  to  the  Pacific 


>  tible  position  that  was  ever  taken  by  man!"  Ocean.  Now,  I  wish  strongly  to  draw  the 
Thus  we  see  that  un  extreme  pro-slavery!  attention  of  the  peonle  of  this  district  to  tbc 
opinion,  utterly  unknown  in  the  conserva-'fact  that  that  same  pro-slavery  ex- 
tive  age  of  tho  country,  has  grown  up  in  a 'treme  of  which  I  have  just  spoken, 
certain  portion  of  the  Southern  mind,  and  and  which  is  now  in  control  of  this 
that  a  new,  extrepie  and  monstrous  pro-  government,  is  equally  extreme  in  ilt 
slavery  doctrine  has  been  invented  to  ac-  ideas  in  reference  to  the  construction  of 
commod&te  that  chancre  of  opinion.  That'tfm  great  national  road.  That  extreme,  as 
doctrine  is  now  at  the  head  of  the  Federal  the  whole  country  knows,  is  committed  to 
Government;  and  planted  in  these  high  the  construction  of  this  road  upon  our 
places  of  influerce.  it  i<»  exerting  its  whole '  South-  Western  border.  In  pursuit  of  thi^ 
power  to  change  the  entire  law  and  policy  scheme,  and  under  the  lead  of  those  extrem- 
of  slavery,  to  debauch  the  public  opinion !ists,  a  few  years  ago  our  government  paid 
of  the  country,  and  to  sweep  the  Constitu-  ten  millions  of  dollars  for  what  was  known  as 
tion  from  the  anciont  moorings,  where  it  the  Gadsden  Purchase — a  barren  strip  of 
was  left  by  the  jrreat  statesmen  who  framed  territory  taken  from  th«  Northern  border  of 
it !  'Mexico,  but  supposed  to  furnish  an  eligible 

PACIFIC  RAILROAD.  route  to  the  Pacific.    The  people  should  be 

I  will  next  offer  a  few  remarks  upon  a! aroused  to  this  subject.  They  should  look 
subject  which  oueht  to  fix  the  attention  of  the'  it  square  in  the  face,  no  matter  to  what 
wholo  people,  and  especially  of  those  living Iparty  they  may  belong.  If  this  road  should 
in  this  portion  of  I'linois.  I  allude  to  the  con-  be  constructed  upon  our  Southern  frontier — 
•truction  of  a  ruilroadto'the  Pacific  Ocean,  upon  what  Col.  Benton  called  the  "disunion 
The  feasibility  of  this  enterprise, at  an  esti-  border  route,"  instead  of  the  "central  un- 
mated  co«*t  of  aboi>t  sixty  millions  of  dol-  ion  route,"  every  body  must  see  that  it 
lars,  is  placed  beyond  dotibt.  It  only  re-  would  not  only  be  detrimental  to  the  great 


(7) 

interests  of  the  We*t,  and  to  the  great  inter-  I  draw  the  attention  of  the  people  to  it,  ai 
es ta  of  the  common  country  aa  a  whole,  but  an  evil  which  should  be  corrected  by  the 
that  it  would  also  bare  a  direct  and  power-  ballot  box. 


ful  disunion  tendency. 


PUBLIC 


AMALGAMATION. 

Aa  to  amalgamation  of  the  white  and  ne- 


There  ii  another  subject  to  which  I  wish'S™  raoe">  m?  idea8  are  clear  and 
strongly  to  call  the  attention  of  the  people.  I1  reKMd  **""  in««mixture  of  negroes  and 
I  allude  to  the  public  expenditures.  Be-  white8  *8  odioua  Md  detestible.  Aiy  read- 
yond  aU  doubt  we  have  fallen  off  amaiingly  in«  of  the  natural  law  is,  that  in  this  respect 
from  the  simplicity  and  economy  of  our  God  has  PIaced  *  "USh  wal1  and  a  deeP 
fathers,  both  in  our  private  and  in  our  pub-,ditoh"  between  these  races;  and  my  opinion 
liolife;  and  candor  requires  me  to  say  thatiis  that  an7  act  of  amalgamation  of  the  two, 
this  applies  in  a  great  measure  to  all  par-|whether  in  the  marriaSe  relation  or  other- 
ties,  because  it  proceeds  in  a  great  degree  wise»  U  viciou8>  brutal  and  debasinS- 
out  of  the  general  habit  of  the  times.  We:  ABOLITION. 

have  grown  luxurious  and  extravagant.  Aj  ^8  to  abolition,  I  will  say  that  it  is  a  mat- 
spirit  of  dashing  interprise,  speculation :  ter  whicb  rest8  ^^  the  pc"ople  of  the  Statea 
and  recklessness  is  abroad  among  us.  The!  where  Biavery  exists.  The  Constitution  left 
thorough  paced  regularity  and  prudence  of'8lavery  where  it  fouad  lt_that  is,  under 
the  olden  time  is  growing  unfashionable,  istate  Iaw8>  ^  flubject  to  the  disposal  of 
and  government,  in  common  with  individ-  |  the  people  of  the  slaveholding  States.  No 
uals,  has  caught  tb.e  general  infection  of  the  power  exist8  ^  the  Feder;il  Government  to 
times.  It  is  true4  however,  that  the  longer  iaboli,h  8javery  ia  tbe  States,  and  of  course 
any  party  remaps  in  power,  the  more  cor-  Q0  pwwer  exi8t8  in  one  State  to  aboii8h  it  in 
rupt  and  extravagant  it  will  become.  ranother.  Slavery  in  any  State,  therefore,  i. 
w.ll  say  noting  of  the  small  scale  of  ex-!solely  and  eiciU8iveiy  uniier  the  control  of 
penditure^  under  our  early  Presidents.  As  SU(jh  Sute  The  people  of  a  slaveholding 
proof^of,  our  rapid  downward  tendency  of  <Mate  may  abolit)h  it  if  they  8,e  fit>  or  they 
late,  \  wm  merely  state  that  the  last  yearly  COMl-iu<l  it  if  they  see  fit.  It  is  purely 
of  Villmore»s  administration  cost  only  about;a  matter  of  Stftt(J  SQ^T^nty,  ^0  power 
f/orty-two  million*  of  dollars,  while  the  last  anywhere  exi8t8>  outside  of  a  slaveholdiag 
year  of  Pierces  oost  about  sixlyfive  mil  Stat6}  w  abolish  slavery  in  such  State;  but 
lions,  the  first  year  of  Buchanan's  *b™^e  peopic  Of  any  given  alave  State,  may  do 
eighty  millions,  and  the  present  year  about  witfa  is  jU3t  what  they  please, 
one  hundred  millions.  At  the  sam^  rnte  our' 

government  will  soon  cost  several    hundred  '  ox* 

millions  annually.  It  is  true  that  the  gov-^  As  to  the  general  position  which  I  occupy, 
arnment  expense  should  increase  in  a  cer-jit  must  be  obvious  from  whut  I  have  already 
tain  degree  in  consequence  of  th«  growth  t  said.  It  is  to  stand  upon  the  old  conserva- 
of  the  country;  but  it  should  not  double  and  live  principle  as  I  receive  it  from  the  fath- 
more  than  Double,  in  eight  years.  I  care  ers  of  the  country — opposed  to  the  fanatical 
nottc/»ereth«9  whole  responsibility  of  this|extreme  of  the  North,  and  the  fanatical  ex- 
great  expenditure  may  lie.  I  care  notjtreme  of  the  South.  This  is  the  principle 
that  a  Republican  House  of  Representatives!  which  presided  at  the  birth  of  the  Consti- 
mny  have  btood  connected  with  a  portion!tution.  This  is  the  principle  which  the 
of  it.  I  look  upon  it  as  an  evidence  of|whole  country  stood  upon  in  the  days  of 
corrupt  extravagance,  no  matter  from  what:  Washington  and  Jefferson;  and  this  is  the 
source  it  may  have  proceeded;  and  as  such  principle  which  the  conservative  masses  of 


• 


. 


(8) 


tb«  pe«pl«  North  and  South  most  yet  stand 
npon. 

What  can  be  plainer,  what  oan  address  it- 
•elf  more  powerfully  to  the  common  sense 
of  the  whole  people,  than  that  those  great 
principles  in  which  our  constitution  and 
union  wero  founded,  must  continue  to  be 
cherished  as  the  best  means  of  preserving 
the  Constitution  and  Union?  Oan  we  find 
a  safer  ehart  for  the  navigation  of  the  per- 
ilous sea  that  lies  before  ua  than  the  one 
which  was  left  «s  by  the  builder*  of  our  no- 
ble ship  of  state, — than  the  one  which  in  their 
hands  guided  that  ship  so  safely  and  HO 
prosperously?  Great  God!  have  we  already 
fallen  upon  that  decay  of  virtue  which  marks 
the  ruin  of  nations!  Are  we  ready  to  turn 
our  backs  npen  all  the  glorious  monuments 
of  the  past?  Are  we  ready  to  extinguish 
in  our  hearts  those  great  principles  which 
burned  in  the  bosoms  of  the  men  who  gave 
us  our  liberties  baptised  in  blood?  We 
say  that  they  are  immortal.  We  say  that 
the  work  of  their  bunds  is  the  noblest  that 
ever  was  wrought  by  any  generation  of  men 
in  any  age  or  country  of  the  world.  Their 
names  are  a  theme  of  praise  upon  every 
tongue.  The  whole  country  turns  with  ven- 

eration to  their  tombs.     Are  we  dead  to 

i 

their  virtues?  Are  we  dead  to  thf  princi- 
ples in  which  they  established  and  adminis- 
tered our  government,  and  which  they  have 
handed  down  to  us  as  a  precious  heritage, 
to  be  preserved  for  our  children  and  our 
children's  children?  Are  we  ready  to  aban- 
don that  heritage — to  abandon  the  position 
they  occupied,  and  to  yield  to  an  extreme 
fanaticism,  whether  in  the  North  or  in  the 
South?  Are  we  ready  to  bow  down  to  that 
violently  eBtreme  pro-slavery  doctrine  of 
Mr.  Calhoun,  by  which  our  constitution  be- 
comes an  engine  for  the  establishment  of 
slavery  in  every  foot  of  American  tftjrri- 


. 

. 

- 
• 


torj, — by  which  the  moral  sense  of  the 
whole  country  will  become  corrupted, — and 
by  which  all  the  opinions,  examples  and  doc- 
trines of  .the  fathers  are  to  be  torn  up  and 
trampled  under  foot?  No!  No!  is  the  sponta- 
neous answer  which  leaps  from  every  patri- 
otic heart.  The  great  masses  of  the  peo- 
ple will  rush  to  no  such  an  extreme.  They 
will  stand  upon  the  great  conservative  doc- 
trines they  have  received  from  the  immortal 
statesmen  who  framed  our  institutions.  Vo- 
ters of  the  Eighth  Congressional  District!  I 
stand  now  upon  those  doctrines  and  appeal 
to  your  reason,  your  conscience,  and  your 
patriotism.  I  appeal  to  you  to  rally  to  that 
platform  of  principles  which  were  laid 
down  by  those  great  builders  who  were 
fresh  from  the  battle-fields  of  the  revolu- 
tion! I  speak  for  the  country  and  the  whole 
country.  I  am  not  conscious  that  there  is 
one  particle  of  sectional  feeling  in  my 
heart.  Looking  across  Mason  &  Dixon's 
line  upon  the  sunny  South,  I  behold  the 
land  of  my  nativity  and  my  early  child- 
hood. Not  in  all  my  pant  is  there  a  memo- 
ry more  holy  than  that  which  gathers  around 
the  green  hills  of  old  Kentucky!  May  my 
right  arm  be  withered  ere  I  lift  tongue  or 
hand  against  her  fair  fame,  her  security  and 
happiness!  The  old  battle-field  of  Eutaw 
Springs,  in  Soutn  Carolina,  brings  the  same 
•mot i  m  to  my  mind  that  is  kindled  by  Bun- 
ker Hill,  in  Massachusetts.  As  the  men  of 
that  time  were  one  in  feeling,  so  we  will  be 
again,  when  we  return  to  the  principles  in 
which  they  founded  and  administered  our 
government.  These  were  the  principles  of 
Washington,  Jefferson,  Franklin,  Madison, 
and  the  whole  array  of  heroes  and  sages  who 
made  that  age  at  least  equal  in  luster  to  any 
recorded  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Up- 
on these  principles  I  stand  for  the  votes  of 
this  District. 


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